


Class Reunion

by AnnaOnTheMoon



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M, Reunion, Star Fleet Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 03:53:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12472876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon
Summary: Jean-Luc asks Beverly to accompany him to his 40th class reunion.





	Class Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I was looking at an article on MemoryAlpha on episode ideas that never were, and there was one involving a class reunion for Jean-Luc...and this was born. Possibly because my own class reunion was this year (which I didn’t attend). This takes place in 2367, so about halfway through the fourth series of TNG, after Wesley has left for the Academy.
> 
> One-shot for now.

Jean-Luc stared at the envelope the Yeoman had delivered to his ready room that had come in on the recent shipment of cargo and post.  It wasn’t often he received any physical post, in fact the last time was well over a year ago when Marie had sent him a case of wine.  Most of his correspondence was handled electronically these days, and thinking back, the last time he had received anything in a thick envelope like this it had been a wedding invitation for Beverly and Jack’s wedding.  He briefly ran down his acquaintances in an attempt to work out which of his friends was getting married and came to the conclusion that he had no idea who had sent the invitation, so he opened it and cringed when he read the words on the thick ivory card stock.

_You and a guest are cordially invited to the Starfleet Academy Class of 2027 40 th Reunion.  Dress blues required. Please RSVP._

A piece of thin paper fluttered out of the envelope, and Jean-Luc made a grab for it before it hit the table.  It was a note from his old friend, Marta Batanider. 

_Johnny,_

_I know you’ve avoided our previous reunions, but please come.  Corey and I miss you!_

_Love,_

_Marta_

Jean-Luc stared at the note.  He hadn’t thought about his friends Marta and Corey in at least twenty years.  Corey had been his roommate at the Academy, and Marta had started out as Corey’s girlfriend, but became a close friend of his, too.  Jean-Luc’s best friend at the Academy had been Walker Keel, but Walker had been killed several years ago.  Jean-Luc wasn’t sure if he really wanted or needed to see anyone else from his class.  Donald, Morgan, Alynna  Nechayev, Philippa...so many faces that he would just rather forget. Of course, he saw Alynna frequently as he had to report to her, and the last time he had seen Philippa it hadn’t gone well as she had been trying to argue that Data wasn’t sentient.

 The words “And guest” troubled him.  Marta knew very well that Jean-Luc had never married and didn’t have a partner.  His only relationship, if he could have called it a relationship, in the past ten years had been Vash, and he wasn’t about to contact her wherever she was with Q to take her as his date.   He supposed he could go alone, but with all his classmates coupled off he didn’t want to be the odd man out.  He wondered what Beverly would say if he asked her to accompany him.  Deciding to ask her, he sent a message to her console in Sickbay inviting her for dinner that night in his quarters.  He would open a bottle of wine and after they were relaxed he would ask her to attend with him.  Besides, it would give her a chance to visit Wesley.  Her response came back rather quickly agreeing to come over at 1900.  The time was currently 1700, so he decided to return to his quarters to prepare for dinner.

###

Jean-Luc refilled their wine glasses and indicated for Beverly to join him on the settee after dinner before he finally decided to broach the subject.  “Beverly, I have a question...more of a favour to ask you.”

Beverly took a sip of the wine and smiled appreciatively. “Ask away, Jean-Luc.  You know I’ll do anything for you.”

“Hm. You might not once you hear what I am asking.”  Beverly raised her eyebrows.

“Go on.”

Jean-Luc heaved a sigh. “It is my...fortieth academy reunion in a few weeks, and I am to bring a guest.  Naturally, most people will be bringing their spouses, so I understand if it might be a bit awkward for you, but I was wondering if you would like to accompany me?  After all,” Jean-Luc said reaching across for her hand, “You are my best friend.”

Beverly pretended to think it over.  “Hm. I don’t know Jean-Luc, you’re asking a lot of me.  Wear a pretty dress? Eat amazing food? Drink wine?  Dance?”  Her eyes gleamed.  She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss. “Of course I’ll go with you.  I don’t suppose we could also visit Wesley?” _And maybe away from the ship, I’ll be able to tell you how I feel._

“Of course we can.  Shall I make the arrangements?  I can book a suite?”

“That sounds lovely, Jean-Luc.”

###

Jean-Luc had decided to pilot the shuttle that would take them back to Earth himself.  From the _Enterprise_ ’s current location, it would only take eight hours. The reunion was the following day, and then they would spend some time with Wesley, and Jean-Luc hoped to bring Beverly to LaBarre, too.  After telling Marie so much about Beverly, she insisted on meeting her and he knew Beverly would love to meet Marie as well. 

Beverly dumped several PADDs on the communal table in the back of the shuttle. “I hope you don’t mind, Jean-Luc, but I thought I would catch up on some reports on the way to Earth.  It’s been so busy lately, and I know I owe you a few!”

Jean-Luc chuckled and added his own PADDs to the table. “It seems we both had the same idea.  Once we engage auto-pilot, I was planning on reading some reports, too.”

“Well, at least we’ll be good company.” 

The two worked in companionable silence until Jean-Luc heard his stomach rumble, causing Beverly to laugh.  “Hmm, someone is hungry.” 

“I suppose I am. Would you like anything?” 

“Some sandwiches and tea, please.”  Jean-Luc busied himself at the replicator as Beverly cleared away some of the PADDs they had been working on. 

Over Lunch, Beverly asked Jean-Luc about his time at the Academy.

“Well, I’m afraid to admit this, Beverly....but I was a bit of a ladies man.”

“You?  Mister one-date-in-fifteen-years?”

“Yes, well.  As you know I was stabbed just after graduation and when I woke up in the hospital, I decided I needed to change my life . In fact, the day before I got stabbed I had dates with two different women....”

“Oh my, Jean-Luc!” Beverly pretended to swoon while she laughed. “So, how many angry ex-girlfriends am I going to meet?  Was Marta one?”

“Oh, no. Marta and Corey had a strange relationship I never got in the middle of. I think I liked Marta, but she was dating my roommate so....”

“....you became her best friend, instead.”  _Hmm. This sounds familiar Jean-Luc.  You became my best friend because I was dating Jack...Did you have feelings for me? Do you still?  I know I have feelings for you..._

“Precisely.  But well, you know about Philippa.  And Alynna Nec-“

“You dated Admiral Nechayev?” 

“I wouldn’t call it _date..._ but we went out a few times.  I wasn’t attracted to her.”

Beverly snorted. “No wonder she doesn’t like you!”

“I hadn’t thought of that.  Perhaps she hasn’t realised I changed. But anyway, there were a few others.”  Jean-Luc began ticking off names with his fingers. “ A girl named Meghan,  Alyssa, Sairah, Rasha, L’Shan, M’Qa.....oh, and Sharal.”

“You dated nine girls in four years? Jean-Luc, this is a side of you I _never_ knew existed!”

“Er...9 fellow Cadets.  I dated a few non-students too.”

Beverly’s mouth hung open. “How many is a few?”

“Six? Seven? I honestly can’t remember. But Beverly....” Jean-Luc reached across the table for her hand.  “You have to understand.  I had just left my small village in France and thought I was the greatest thing.”

She gave his hand a squeeze.  “Out of curiosity, Jean-Luc, before you came to the Academy, how many girls had you dated?”

“Only one.  The girl I lost my virginity to.  Rachelle LeDew.  I think if I had stayed in France ,I probably would have married Rachelle. “

“Because you were in love with her?”

Jean-Luc shook his head. “No, because it was just how it was done in La Barre....so what about you?  Did you date around before you met Jack?”

“Hmm. A little. Caldos was such a small colony, there weren’t many other boys my age.  Like you, I probably would have married the boy I lost my virginity to if I had stayed there.”

Jean-Luc patted her hand. “What a pair we are.” 

###

Jean-Luc expertly landed their shuttle on the roof of their hotel in the designated shuttlecraft parking area and took Beverly’s bag from her as they descended down to the lobby in the lift. 

“Ah, Captain Picard  and Mrs Picard, how nice to see you.”  The concierge had a vague Northern European accent. It reminded Jean-Luc of the type of accent he heard when he went to Berlin once, and wondered if the man was German. 

“Actually, it’s Doctor-“ Beverly was interrupted by the concierge before she could finish.

“Doctor Picard. So sorry of me.”  Beverly stifled her laugh.  “We have upgraded your suite.  Only the best for our most decorated Starfleet Captain, no?”

Jean-Luc’s ears went pink. “Really, there’s no need for that. We’ll be quite happy with the suite I originally booked.”

“Nonsense! Arko will show you to your suite.” The man snapped his fingers and an odd little humanoid from a species neither Beverly nor Jean-Luc could identify came over at once, took their bags from Jean-Luc, and ushered them into a different lift. 

“Ah, I see you are staying in our honeymoon suite.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide and he exchanged glances with Beverly. 

“Er...no, that really isn’t necessary...we’re fine with the room I originally booked...”

“It says on my PADD,”  he thrust his device at Jean-Luc, “to take you to the honeymoon suite. That’s where we’re going.  If you don’t like it, tough.” Jean-Luc frowned.

“I’m sure it will be fine, Jean-Luc.”

“I swear to you, Beverly, this isn’t my doing at all. I booked us a simple two-room suite.  I wonder who managed to get it to....”  he trailed off as a lightbulb went off in his head. “Corey.  He must have contacted the hotel and changed our room.”  Beverly laughed. “A prank? I get an upgraded room because of a prank? “ The little alien man stopped in front of a large door and tapped a card against the access panel before passing it to Jean-Luc.  The door opened and Beverly gasped.  The room was larger than the entire house she and Wesley had before joining the _Enterprise_. 

“This is your living room and dining area. Replicator is over there.  The bathroom is through that door, and the bedroom is that one.  Any questions?”

“Bedroom?  I booked a two-room suite?”

“And now you have this one.”  The badge on the alien’s chest chirped. “Got to go. Enjoy your stay. You have a very pretty wife!”  And before Jean-Luc could correct the bell hop, he was gone. 

Beverly collapsed on the sofa in a fit of giggles after exploring their large suite, which was really more like an apartment.  “Jean-Luc.  The bathroom is humongous!   It has a massive claw foot tub, I think it’s designed for two!”

“Beverly...you can have the bedroom....I’ll sleep out here on the sofa.”

“Jean-Luc, no.  I can’t let you do that.  Have you seen the size of that bed?  Plenty of room for two.” 

“Er....ah....” Jean-Luc truly was speechless.  _How can I possibly share a bed with her and not touch her?  Oh, this was a bad idea asking her to be my date this weekend..._

“Earth to Jen-Luc?”  Beverly pulled Jean-Luc out of his thoughts.  “Ah, thought I lost you.  Do you want to eat in our room or shall we go out?”

“Whatever you’d like to do.”

“Well, it has been a while since either of us ate non-replicated food.”

“I agree. So, Captain’s Mess at HQ or a restaurant?”

“Hmm. I think a restaurant. No offence, Jean-Luc, but we’ll be seeing plenty of brass tomorrow.”

“Whatever you want, dear.”  The word snuck out of Jean-Luc’s mouth before he even realised what he had said . Beverly chose not to acknowledge the word as she got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “I’m going to go change before we go out.  I don’t feel like wearing my uniform tonight.”

Jean-Luc watched Beverly grab her bag before she retreated into the bedroom.  He made his way over to his own bag and pulled out a dark green silk shirt and black trousers.  _Are we going on a date?  We eat dinner together all the time...but usually in uniform..._ Jean-Luc shrugged to himself as he made his way into the shared bathroom to change.  He quickly shaved and applied some cologne. He felt nervous, even though he knew he shouldn’t. After all, he was only going out to dinner with his best friend...right?

He gently knocked on the bedroom door to let Beverly know he was ready and his breath caught in his throat as she stood in the doorway.  She had chosen to wear a black and white dress with a low cut neckline and a high/low hem exposing her legs in the front. To complete her look, she wore black stockings and heels, and teardrop shaped earrings.  Jean-Luc smiled as he recognized the earrings as a gift he had given her many years ago.  She had done something else to her hair, too, styling it loose and full around her face.  Jean-Luc ran a hand over his bald head nervously. 

“Beverly, you look lovely.”

“Thank you, you don’t look so bad yourself.”  Beverly tucked her hand into the crook of Jean-Luc’s arm, and the couple made their way to the door.  “While I was getting dressed, I looked up a few restaurants nearby and found a Bolian seafood fusion place just down the street from us.  What do you think?”  She looked up at Jean-Luc and he once again lost the power of speech.  He nodded, and let Beverly lead the way.

###

Dinner had been a pleasant affair.  They had been seated at a small, intimate table causing Beverly’s leg to occasionally brush up against Jean-Luc’s.  He didn’t know if she had been doing it deliberately or accidentally, but each small touch sent a thrill through him.  After dinner, she had coerced him into dancing, claiming that if they were expected to dance the following night at his reunion, they might as well practice.  Jean-Luc had put up a token protest as he always did, but soon found himself lost with her in his arms.  To anyone watching, they looked like a couple very much in love. 

Back at their hotel, Jean-Luc had once again offered to sleep on the sofa, but Beverly insisted they share the bed.  So now they were both laying on either side of the bed, with about a three foot gap between them.  Jean-Luc was nervous and trying desperately not to think about his friend a few feet away in her blue silk nightgown.  He sighed softly as he thought about the likelihood of her not wearing anything else under the nightgown.  _Don’t think about her like that. Don’t think about her like that. Don’t think about her like that._   He tried telling himself this over and over in his head as he screwed his eyes shut and attempted to fall asleep. 

Next to him, Beverly had other ideas.  She inched her way across the void between them and rested her head on Jean-Luc’s shoulder.  Almost automatically, Jean-Luc’s arm went to wrap around her to hold her close.  He breathed in the scent of her hair and gave the top of her head a kiss.  She hadn’t been in his arms like this since the night of Jack’s funeral almost fifteen years ago.  That night, she had visited him in the guest room and complained she hadn’t wanted to sleep alone and asked Jean-Luc to hold her.  It had taken all of his strength not to try to do anything beyond holding her and sleeping.  He summoned all his strength once again and soon drifted off to sleep with the love of his life clasped in his arms. 

###

The reunion dinner wasn’t until later in the evening , so Jean-Luc suggested to Beverly that they go meet up with Wesley during the day.  She agreed, and after quick showers and a short breakfast, they were both ready to go.  As they were walking out the door, Beverly reached for Jean-Luc’s hand and gave it a squeeze.  “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Suggesting we see Wes.”

“Of course. Shall we?”  He used his free hand to gesture towards the door and he was secretly thrilled when Beverly didn’t release his hand. 

Jean-Luc’s knock on Wesley’s suite door was answered by his roommate.  The blond boy invited them in and then called behind him “Wes, your parents are here!”  Jean-Luc opened his mouth to correct the boy, but the young cadet had already returned to his own room.  Beverly grinned.  “Never mind, Jean-Luc. I’m sure Wes will tell him.”

“I do consider Wesley to be like a son to me.”  Beverly reached for his hand and squeezed it again.  “I know.  I think Wes considers you his father, too.”

Beverly dropped Jean-Luc’s hand as Wesley finally emerged from his room, but not before Wesley noticed. “Mom! Captain! What are you doing here?” 

“It’s Jean-Luc’s reunion tonight.  He suggested we drop in on you since it’s not until tonight.”

“Mom, are you the Captain’s date?” Wesley raised his eyebrows at his mother. 

“Yes.” 

“Good. I’m....ah, glad.”

“Settling in well?”

“Yes, Sir.”  Jean-Luc smiled at his young protégé. “Wes, you don’t need to call me Captain or Sir right now.  I’m here as your mother’s...friend. You can call me Jean-Luc.”

“Yes...Sir...Jean-Luc. That’s going to take some getting used to.  Hey, want to see the campus?  You guys can tell me if anything has changed!”

The three wandered the campus and to anyone observing, it looked like a young Cadet walking with his parents.  When they came up to where Boothby was tending to the plants, Jean-Luc broke out in a wide grin.

“Boothby!  You don’t look a day older than you did forty years ago!”  He reached out a hand and clasped the older man’s hand in his.

“Jean-Luc Picard?  You’ve lost your hair!”  Jean-Luc ran his hand over his bald head and sheepishly grinned before draping his arm over Beverly’s shoulder.

“Do you remember Beverly?” 

“I sure do. Howard, right?” Beverly nodded.  Boothby then laid his eyes on Wesley. “Ah, I should have known he was your son.”

“Er...” Before Jean-Luc was able to say anything, Boothby continued. “He acts just like you did when you were a Cadet.  He’s even inherited your knack with women.”  Wesley blushed.  Jean-Luc just stared at Boothby.  “Young man, you better not go and do what your father did when he thought he was in love.”

Wesley grinned. “What did he do, Sir?”

“Sir? I like this young man. Well, son, your father went over to one of my trees and dared to carve her initials in the tree! I was furious with him.” Boothby turned to Jean-Luc and nodded towards Beverly. “Don’t go getting any ideas of carving _her_ name into a tree.”

Beverly grinned.  “Whose initials did you carve, Jean-Luc?”

“Ah, Beverly, it was over forty years ago. I don’t remember.”

“Hmm. So we’ll see this woman tonight?”  Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

“Possibly?”

Boothby interrupted the two.  “Look, ah, I didn’t mean to start anything.  I’m sorry. What’s your boy’s name?”

Wesley grinned. He couldn’t wait to send a message to Geordi to tell him all about this.  “My name is Wesley, sir.”

“Well, then, Wesley Picard, you come and see me anytime you need to do some thinking.  You can get a lot of thinking done pulling up weeds.  Best be on my way now. Good to see you again, Jean-Luc.” Boothby turned and moved back towards his gardening and Beverly started to laugh.

“Oh, Jean-Luc!  The look on your face!”

“Yes. Er..Wesley, I’m sorry Boothby thought you were my son. I should have corrected him.”

“Nah, it’s ok. Besides, most people think you’re my stepdad anyway.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes widened and he glanced over at Beverly who was still laughing.

“They, ah, do?” 

“Sure, I mean...everyone knows  you two are together.”

 _Out of the mouths of babes_ Jean-Luc thought.  Out loud he said, “Everyone?”

“My instructors....some of the Cadets who have parents in Starfleet.  I don’t mind.  I mean, you guys have been together since I was a kid...I just kinda go with it. ”

“I...see.”  Jean-Luc was suddenly very aware of the arm he had draped over Beverly and went to pull it away, but Beverly reached her hand up and held his hand in place.  _Even Wesley thinks I’m dating his mother?  Are we that transparent?_

“Jean-Luc, it’s fine.” She turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “But I’m warning you, I expect a very nice ring.”

“I’ll, ah...see what I can do....” _Merde._

###

After having Lunch with Wesley, Wesley explained he had some studying to do so he bade goodbye to his mother and his captain. He chuckled on his way back to his dorm. He probably should have at least told his mother everyone thought she was married to Jean-Luc earlier, but Wesley just assumed it would be true eventually.  He honestly didn’t mind when other people referred to him as Picard’s kid.  It was nice.  It wasn’t like he hadn’t wished for the Captain to have been his father many times when he was on the _Enterprise._   Wesley just wondered why they hadn’t gotten married yet. 

Jean-Luc and Beverly strolled arm in arm through the rest of the campus, each telling stories of their time there and carefully avoiding what Wesley had revealed to them. _If even Wesley thinks Beverly and I are dating, what must our crew think?_  The afternoon was drawing to a close, and Beverly asked to return to the hotel so she could get ready for the evening’s event.  As much as Jean-Luc loathed his dress uniform, he was suddenly very glad he only had to put it on.  He settled himself on the settee with a book he had thought to pack, since he knew changing would only take him a few minutes. 

When Beverly emerged from the bedroom, she took Jean-Luc’s breath away.  She had chosen a floor length ballgown in blue, to mimic her usual uniform colour.  She was, once again, wearing the earrings Jean-Luc had given her years ago and Jean-Luc hurried over to his bag and pawed through it until he found the small velvet box.  He presented it to Beverly and shock registered on her face. “Jean-Luc, you didn’t have to get me anything...”  She opened the box and resting against the velvet interior was a necklace with a small spiral made of sparkling stones.  “It’s...beautiful.”  She moved her hair away from her neck so Jean-Luc could put it on her.

“Beverly, this is called a journey necklace.  It represents the past, present, and future.  When I saw it, I thought it described us perfectly...I just didn’t know when or if I would ever get up the nerve to give it to you.”  He clasped it around her neck, dropping a kiss on the back of her neck as he did so sending shivers down her spine.   _I hope she understands the meaning. I don’t know if I can say the words._

“It’s perfect.  Thank you, Jean-Luc. I love...it.” She caught herself.  _Should I tell him how I feel?_   She glanced up and down Jean-Luc’s dress uniform.  She loved the dress uniforms, even if Jean-Luc always complained about the collar.  “Come here, let me do that for you.”  She reached for his neck clasp and gently tugged it into place.  “There.”  She let her hand linger just a few seconds longer than nescessary.

 Jean-Luc cleared his throat and she moved her hand away.  He held out his arm to her. “Shall we?”  Beverly placed her hand through his arm and smiled.  “Let’s go.”

###

The reunion was, just as Jean-Luc had expected, tedious.  The bright spot was Beverly, and he watched as she engaged a circle of his classmates and their spouses in a discussion. Beverly always was able to talk to nearly anyone, and this was one of the reasons Jean-Luc loved taking her with him to diplomatic events. He quite enjoyed just sitting back and watching her interact with people. She was so lively and bubbly.  He picked up two flutes with sparkling wine in them and wandered over to where Beverly was speaking.  He caught the tail end of someone directing a comment to her and they called her “Doctor Picard”.  He watched as two bright spots of pink appeared on her cheeks, but she didn’t seem to want to correct Admiral Benyl.

Jean-Luc entered the circle and passed one of the glasses to Beverly before giving her a peck on the cheek. “You looked parched. It’s not from LaBarre, but it will do.”

“Mm. Thank you, Jean-Luc.  I’ve been having a fascinating discussion with Admiral Benyl and Doctor Manday.  They’ve been telling me the most interesting things about you.”

“Danny, Mick.  Good to see you.  I hope you haven’t been telling Beverly all of my secrets.”

“Ah, Johnny, you know we would never do that,” Admiral Benyl boomed.  He clapped Jean-Luc on the back. “It’s just good to see you here. You seemed to have avoided these reunions in previous years.”

“Well, Marta sent me a note and asked me to attend. Speaking of, have you seen either her or Corey?  With her note, I was expecting to see her by now.”

Benyl and Manday shook their heads.  “Sorry, Johnny.” 

“I had forgotten you used to go by Johnny.” Beverly’s  eyes sparkled as she took a sip of her wine. 

“I would prefer if you would kindly forget again, Beverly.  I haven’t been Johnny since....well, it’s been a long time.”

“I’ll forget if you dance with me.”

“Beverly,” Jean-Luc cautioned.  “You know how much I dislike dancing.”

“Hmm, yes but you love to dance with me.  Excuse us, Admiral, Doctor.”  Beverly took his glass and placed it along with hers on the tray of a passing waiter before taking Jean-Luc’s hand in his and leading him onto the dance floor.  Admiral Benyl’s wife leaned in to Doctor Manday’s wife and said quietly, “Look at how in love they are.  I wish Daniel would look at me like _that_ once in a while.”

Jean-Luc gazed down at Beverly in his arms and asked the question on his mind. “Beverly, why didn’t you correct Mick when he called you Doctor Picard?” 

“Oh, it seems your friend Corey has told most of your classmates we were married.  I just thought I would go with it.  I could get used to being called Doctor Picard.”

“Could you, now?”  Jean-Luc stroked Beverly’s face. 

Beverly leaned into the caress.  “Mm.  But only if there’s a ring involved.”

Jean-Luc felt like he had a wad of cotton in his mouth. “I....see....” He leaned down and his lips were mere centimetres from hers when he was jerked away and spun around.

“Johnny!”  A tall man grabbed him in a bear hug.  “Corey, let Johnny go!”  Corey reluctantly let go and Jean-Luc was pulled into the arms of a dark-haired woman who kissed him on the cheek.  Beverly looked on with bemusement until she was swept up into Corey’s arms and he kissed her.  Jean-Luc detangled himself from his old friends and glared at Corey. Corey reluctantly let go of Beverly, and Jean-Luc immediately drew her back into his arms. “Hmm, so this is the fine Beverly, eh?  Are the rumours true?”

Jean-Luc sighed.  “Beverly, meet Corey and Marta.  Corey, Marta, this is Beverly _Crusher._ ” He put extra emphasis on Beverly’s last name. 

Corey grinned. “I thought her name was Picard.”

Beverly had that look of mischief in her eyes again as she glanced between the two men. “Privately. Professionally, I’m still using Crusher.” 

Corey blanched.  “Uhh...”  Marta laughed at his predicament and exchanged a glance with Beverly.  Marta knew right then she liked the woman who had captured her friend’s heart, even if he hadn’t admitted it yet.   She tugged on Beverly’s arm. “Come on, Beverly, let’s leave the boys to dance with each other. I’d love to get to know you better!”  Jean-Luc groaned.  He did not need his best girl friend from the Academy talking to his...whatever Beverly was to him.  Corey motioned to the bar.

“Drink?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Jean-Luc was nursing his third Aldebaran whisky over at the bar, having been abandoned by Corey after the first, when Beverly found him again.  She grabbed the glass from his hand and downed it in one go.  “Your friends....” Jean-Luc signalled for the bartender to bring them two more drinks and indicated for Beverly to continue. “Marta is lovely.  I’m surprised you never went out with her. But that Corey.  He had the audacity to pinch my bottom!”   Jean-Luc had, unfortunately, just taken a sip of his new glass of whisky and spit the green liquid all over the bar and some landed on Beverly. 

“Sorry, love.  He did _what_?”

Beverly grabbed a napkin and patted at the whisky.  Fortunately, none had landed on her dress. “He pinched my bottom! He asked me to dance and then he just grabbed my arse and squeezed.” Beverly slammed down the glass of whisky. 

“Do you want me to talk to him?” 

“No...just...can we leave?  Unless you want to stay, that is.”

“Beverly, I’m not exactly enjoying myself either. I was...a different person when I attended the Academy.  I find I no longer fit in with my old friends.  I would much rather spend the rest of my evening with you.”

###

Back at their hotel, Beverly retreated into the bedroom to change out of her dress while Jean-Luc changed in the living room.   He pulled on a pair of trousers and was standing shirtless rifling through his bag for a casual shirt when the door to the bedroom slid open.  Beverly crept up behind Jean-Luc and ran her hand down his back before wrapping her arms around him in a backwards hug. “Have I ever told you, what a lovely looking back you have?” 

Jean-Luc slowly turned around with his shirt in his hand.  “Beverly, are you drunk?”

“No.  I just don’t often get to see your back.  It’s nice. Dance with me?”

“Just let me put my shirt on.”

“No. Leave it off.”

Jean-Luc groaned. “Bev. Er. Lee.” She reached for his hand and pulled him into the center of the room.  He dropped the shirt in his hands and wrapped his arms around her as she commanded the computer to play music.  “You know, if I had asked _you_ to dance shirtless, you probably would slap me.”

Beverly rested her head on his shoulder and ran a hand over his chest, fingering his chest hair lightly. “Probably. But this is nice.  Intimate.  Don’t you think?”

“Y-yes...but Beverly,  I think we need to talk. “  She looked up at him. “I...never knew people thought we were together.  I’m...well, I would be lying if I said I was sorry people thought that but...I don’t want you to feel like since everyone expects us to be together that we should...not that I don’t want to, of course....I...”

“Jean-Luc?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”  Jean-Luc slid his hands up from her waist to cup her face and met her lips with his.  Beverly moaned into his lips and wrapped her arms tighter around Jean-Luc.  They stayed lip-locked as Beverly walked Jean-Luc backwards towards the sofa and gently pushed him down onto it.  Jean-Luc had his hand under Beverly’s sweater and was tracing slow circles across her back when she pulled away from his lips.  “Jean-Luc? Why didn’t we do this sooner?” 

“I don’t know, Beverly.  I really don’t know.”  Beverly sat up and removed her sweater. 

“Mm. Beverly, you are beautiful.”  Jean-Luc was determined to take things slow with Beverly.  He had waited all those years for her, and he felt he could wait longer, but Beverly had other ideas.  She stood up and pulled on Jean-Luc’s hands to pull him up from the sofa.  She led him to the bedroom and slowly removed the rest of her clothes. 

“Jean-Luc, I love you.  Make love to me.”

“Beverly, I love you too.”

###

Beverly woke up with a smile.  She and Jean-Luc had migrated towards the middle of the bed and she lay in his arms with her bare back pressed against Jean-Luc’s chest.  She wiggled her bottom experimentally and elicited a groan out of Jean-Luc.  “Woman, you are insatiable.” Beverly rolled over to face Jean-Luc. “So, satiate me.”  Jean-Luc pushed her onto her back and climbed on top of her. “Oh, I intend to, my love.  I intend to.”


End file.
